Botswana is basking in the glare of a 1 098 carat diamond that was unearthed from its soil earlier this month and if price estimations are anything to go by, then the African country is due for an enormous payout.
What we know about the Botswana diamond
As reported by Bloomberg, Debswana Diamond, a subsidiary company owned by De Beers and the government of Botswana, unearthed the precious stone two weeks ago in Jwaneng, the world’s richest mine.
At 1 098 carats, it is in high contention to be officially ranked as the world’s third-largest gem-quality rough diamond ever mined. High on that list is the 3 106.75-ct Cullinan Diamond that was mined out of the Gauteng small town in 1905.
The runner-up Lesedi la Rona 1 111-ct diamond was unearthed from Botswana in 2015 and sold to British jeweller Graff for more than R742 million ($53 million) two years later.
“Debswana will work with the government of the Republic of Botswana and De Beers to value and sell the diamond to ensure it returns maximum benefit for the people of Botswana,” the company’s spokeswoman, Rachel Mothibatsela, said.
Here’s how much it’s worth
Since the large discovery was made, the rough diamond has undergone a rigorous valuation process that will determine its true worth.
According to Diamond Pro‘s Michael Fried, a lot of factors are to be considered when determining the monetary value of a precious stone.
With regards to diamonds, factors such as cut, clarity, colour and shape go a long way in placing a price tag that speaks to the stone’s market value.
One can easily assume that since the Lesedi la Rona stone is 13 carats larger than the recent diamond Botswana unearthed, its value would be less than R742 million (or $53 million). However, the cut of this unnamed 1 098-ct stone and its quality will, in the end, determine its true value.
At this point, it’s a case of waiting for the conclusion of the valuation.